'Physical relations' cannot automatically mean sexual assault: Delhi HC
New Delhi, Dec 29: The Delhi High Court has acquitted a man in a POCSO case, saying the use of phrase 'physical relations' by the minor survivor cannot automatically mean sexual assault.
A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma allowed the appeal by the accused, who was awarded imprisonment for the remainder of his life, and observed that it was unclear how the trial court concluded that there was any sexual assault when the survivor had voluntarily gone with the accused.
The court asserted that the leap from physical relations or 'samband' to sexual assault and then to penetrative sexual assault must be established by evidence and cannot be deduced as an inference.
"The mere fact that the survivor is below 18 years cannot lead to a conclusion that there was penetrative sexual assault. The survivor, in fact, used the phrase 'physical relations', but there is no clarity as to what she meant by using the said phrase," the court said in the judgement passed on December 23.
"Even the use of the words 'samband banaya' is not sufficient to establish an offence under Section 3 of the POCSO Act or under Section 376 IPC. Though consent would not matter if the girl is a minor under the POCSO Act, the phrase 'physical relations' cannot be converted automatically into sexual intercourse let alone sexual assault," it held.
The court said the benefit of doubt ought to be in favour of the accused and, therefore, ruled, "The impugned judgement completely lacks any reasoning and also does not reveal or support any rationale for the conviction. Under such circumstances, the judgement is liable to be set aside. The appellant is acquitted."
The complaint in this case was lodged in March 2017 by the minor girl's mother, alleging that her 14-year-old daughter had been lured and kidnapped from her home by an unknown person.
The minor was found in Faridabad along with the accused, who was arrested and subsequently convicted for offence of rape under IPC and penetrative sexual assault under POCSO in December 2023 and later awarded imprisonment for the remainder of his life.
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Fatal accidents decline by 1.26 per cent in Bengaluru in 2024
Bengaluru, Jan 1: The Bengaluru Traffic Police on Wednesday said its ongoing efforts have led to a 1.26 per cent reduction in fatal accidents and a 1.90 per cent drop in deaths caused by mishaps in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Non-fatal accidents saw a sharper decline of 4.57 per cent, contributing to an overall 3.97 per cent reduction in total accidents compared to 2023, they said.
In 2024, Bengaluru reported 4,784 accident cases, out of which 871 were fatal and 3,913 were non-fatal.
These incidents resulted in 893 fatalities and 4,052 injuries.
However, the data also revealed a slight 3.34 per cent increase in self-accident cases, with 210 such cases in which 212 people lost their lives.
"In 2024, concrete measures were taken to identify and rectify black spots in Bengaluru city, particularly those pertaining to pedestrian accidents. Efforts have paid off and there has been a significant reduction in pedestrian deaths in 2024, with a reduction of 23.17 per cent compared to 2023," the police said.
Citing data, the police said 233 pedestrians lost their lives in accidents in 2024.
The data showed that a total of 82,86,561 cases were registered for various traffic violations in 2024 and the total fine amount collected was Rs 80.90 crore.
The analysis of traffic data showed that in 2024, there was an increase in drunk driving cases with police registering 23,574 cases as against 7,053 cases in 2023.
Last year, the traffic police created 54 green corridors for medical emergency, the data stated.
In 2024, 532 cases of wheeling were registered following which 520 vehicles were seized and 456 people were arrested in this regard.
With respect to wheeling cases, action was taken against 121 minors and 79 guardians, 146 driving licenses were sent for suspension and 246 RC (Registration Certificate) were sent for cancellation, the data showed.
